Judge rules that religious beliefs not enough to refuse to be part of RFID system

In Texas a 15-year-old student, Andrea Hernandez, refused to wear a trackable RFID tag and then refused to wear a pretend RFID tag that Northside Independent School District offered her. The school district then insisted Hernandez wear this pretend tag or face suspension. (You almost couldn’t make it up). So Andrea took the school district to court.

However a federal judge’s 25 page ruling on violation of her rights to religious freedom in that wearing the pretend RFID would amount to showing support for the programme, stated “The accommodation offered by the [school] district is not only reasonable it removes plaintiff’s religious objection from legal scrutiny all together,”U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia wrote.

Northside Independant School District’s insistance for Andrea to wear pretend RFID is presumably to give the impression to students and parents that no one dissents. There is no room for objection. It is good to be tagged and tracked. Look! Everyone is wearing a RFID tag – life must be good, right?

Why the school’s dogged insistence? Does the school district have such little regard for their students religious beliefs and privacy that they are willing to sell out for a few budget dollars?

What exactly is the price do you put on the next generations beliefs and privacy? 1 million dollars, 5 million dollars?

Surely respect and tolerance for peaceful religious, spiritual beliefs and a right to be private is priceless to a decent society and a basic respect we should pay to each other as human to human, especially adult to child?

Article – Biometrics and RFID tracking in UK Education

Documenting the rise of biometric and RFID technology used in education

Book – Surveillance Schools

With the growth of surveillance technologies globally, Dr Emmeline Taylor focuses on the phenomenon of the Surveillance School and explores the impact that continual monitoring is having upon school children, education and society.

433MHz military capabilities of tracking students

Interview with Katherine Albrecht, technology and privacy in schools

Katherine Albrecht show - July 2013. Katherine and Pippa King discuss the victories in removing or preventing biometric and other tracking systems from being used on our children.